Metagenomic Discovery of Marine Microbial Enzymes for Thermoset Resin Composite Recycling
Lead Organisation
Scottish Association for Marine Science; Sustainable Extricko
Theme
Waste recycling
Funding
SPARK Award
Project partners: Sustainable Extricko & Scottish Association for Marine Science
Project focus area: Waste recycling
Composite thermoset resins are widely used by industry because of their strength and resistance to chemicals and heat. But when thermoset resin products, such as fibreglass boats, reach their End-of-Life (EoL) there are few recycling options. To advance the recycling of EoL thermoset resins, Sustainable Extricko (SE) have developed a recycling process – termed Extricko. This technology is better than existing methods, but advances are needed to scale the technology and reduce its environmental impact. SE and the Scottish Association for Marine Science have begun addressing this challenge by searching for marine enzymes to improve the Extricko process. To do this, Extricko-processed materials were used to capture natural marine microbes. The blueprints of the microorganisms were reconstructed, and data analysis showed that the community was collectively helping to bio-deteriorate the composite resins. The microbes were adapted for the degradation of benzene-like compounds and steroid-like xenobiotic compounds. The work establishes that marine microorganisms can contribute to biodeterioration of thermoset resins, but no single organism was key to this. Therefore, the use of enzymes to accelerate the Extricko recycling process will likely require a cocktail of enzymes to break the many chemical bonds that make thermoset composite resins so difficult to recycle.
For more information
For more information on this project, contact us, or view all Engineering Biology SPARK Award winners.
This project funding is part of the Engineering Biology Innovation Network, led by Innovate UK Business Connect in collaboration with Innovate UK and UKRI’s Technology Mission Fund. The network’s goal is to progress innovations, create a commercially focused community and foster new consortia to advance innovations towards commercial applications.